The itinerary was just fine, but cruise was great

MSC Meraviglia Cruise Review

petrilcrew

Contributor Level: Second Mate

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 5

Helpful Votes: 70

Overall rating:

4.3 out of 5

9 Night Bahamas (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: January 26, 2024

Ship: MSC Meraviglia

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 9 months ago

Review summary

Meg some very nice people, I enjoyed sailing from Brooklyn, just wish they offer a southern Caribbean cruise from there. Looking forward to sailing to Bermuda from there.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

2nd time out of Brooklyn and couldn't ask for anything more, both coming and going. Smooth sailing.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

I get it, not everything was great, but I always find something that is very good. They do steak, sea food and pasta very well. We only do the buffet for breakfast and late night pizza, go all the way aft for better seating.

Panorama Restaurant

5 out of 5

Efficient service, not too loud and nice views. Steak, pasta and most seafoods are done well. Not a fan of the crab cakes, too much filling. The prime rib the first night was very good.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Activity were good, I hurt my knee, so couldn't participate in everything this time

Entertainment

5 out of 5

I couldn't get to all the shows this time, but those I did attend were good

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Very good service, very noisy at the service deck at night.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Very clean

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Very clean, and good size. First time I've had a bath tub on a cruise ship. 2 complaints, please change the mattress, way too hard. And, put an outlet by the bed. I use a CPAP and the extension to the outlet is a bit of a pain in the dark Tip: ask for another mattress pad, it helps.

Ship tip

We check in at 1 pm for both our trips, worked great, walked right on. The aft pool area and aft seating at the buffet were great. Ask for another mattress pad, for the hard bed. The forward elevators are less crowded.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

4 out of 5

Take the "Big Bus" around the city or one of the lagoon boat rides were good (very inexpensive, but touristy)

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Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, Bahamas

4 out of 5

Unfortunately, was very windy the day we were there, but love the island. There are food trucks around the island and a buffet.(not sure why someone said no food, not accurate) The food in the yatch club areas was excellent (we were not in Yatch club this trip)

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Port Canaveral, Florida

4 out of 5

Fine, day trip to Disney springs or NASA would be good options. We didn't get off the ship.

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Nassau, Bahamas

4 out of 5

We've been there many times. But, the new port area was a nice addition, much better.

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Brooklyn, New York

4 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Couldn't be earlier, have breakfast then just walk right off.

Traveler Photos

The 3 d video at the port is worth getting off the ship.

11 Comments

kelskazoo22 7 months ago

Thank you for the very detailed review!

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petrilcrew 9 months ago

Ps, the knee is fine.😁 Now

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petrilcrew 9 months ago

Upgrading to the yacht club is very subjective (your budget and itinerary). We really liked the yacht club, but it isn't really necessary when the ship isn't crowded and when there were no tenders on this itinerary. Priority boarding and disembarking is a very nice perk. The yacht club on the Seashore was awesome! Plenty of space even when the ship was full. The Meraviglia's is a little smaller, but still very nice. If you have it in the budget, try it. We had 7 of us in July, it was expensive, but really a great splurge. The YC dinning room was similar to specialty dinning, in quality of food and service. If you are not a drinker, don't need specialty dinning, don't need the Internet and there are no tenders to worry about getting on or off... You may be very happy without the YC. Again, if it's in the budget, give it a try.... It does hurt a little going back.😁 Ps, Dinner is a little more formal, smart casual most nights, just make sure male have a nice pair of pants for dinner on formal night. A coat and tie are not necessary. There are plenty of YouTube videos on the TV, check them out. Good luck

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Niavlys 9 months ago

Thanks for your detailed review and advice

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karlgrgurich 9 months ago

Lots of great tips!

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willwork4cruz 9 months ago

Sounds like a good cruise. Glad they are getting the steaks right. I’ll bet everyone wishes New York was close enough to the southern Caribbean to cruise to in a week.

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24MyLuckyDragon 9 months ago

Glad you had a great cruise! Sorry about your knee ☹️! Great review thanks for sharing. How was your “Yacht Club” upgrade? What made you decide on it? Please share & was it worth it? Happy cruising 😎⚓️🤩❣️‼️

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javawoody 9 months ago

Thanks for sharing

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Skooby 9 months ago

Glad you enjoyed yourself. Thanks for the review.

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cruising2004 9 months ago

Glad you had a wonderful cruise! Thank you for your detailed review.

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TiffyTaffy 9 months ago

Thanks for your review, and tips!

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Other reviews of this sailing

Great cruise!

Good affordable cruise

MSC Meraviglia sail date 01/26/24